Commission on the Status of Women

Because of Loretto’s commitment to the education and empowerment of women and girls, each year we participate in the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women, or “CSW”.

CSW was founded in 1946 under the leadership of the early pioneers for women’s inclusion at the United Nations, including Eleanor Roosevelt and Denmark’s Bodil Begtrup, the Commission’s first Chairperson. Since its inception, CSW has advocated for the rights of women on many different fronts, including arguing for gender-inclusive language in the drafting of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights, writing the Convention on the Political Rights of Women that was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1952, and the drafting the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

As a woman, as a Loretto and as a Nerinx Hall student, it is my obligation to empower women both in my home community and all over the world. I plan to bring the ideas and inspirations of CSW58 to my community by empowering every person I meet.

I promise to not only continue my own story of justice and gender equality, but to help my sisters across the world write their own.

-Beatrice, Nerinx junior ’14

The Commission on the Status of Women has also been instrumental in highlighting the experience of women both as those often disproportionately affected by poverty and other social issues, but also as agents of change. For more about the history of CSW, check out this report produced by the UN Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality.

Another aspect to the work of Loretto’s UN office has been partnering with the Working Group on Girls, which advocates for the inclusion of the rights and experience of the girl child in all of the work of the United Nations. Collaborating with the Working Group on Girls, for the past 3 years Loretto at the UN has had the opportunity to bring students from its schools around the United States to the 10 day CSW meetings here in New York City.

Stay Tuned in to Loretto at the UN!

Want to receive updates about the United Nations and the social justice issues we address at our office? Interested in being alerted about opportunities where you can make a difference on a global scale?